Kewanee’s Ince shoots for state 3-point title

Thursday

Mar 14, 2013 at 7:15 PMMar 14, 2013 at 7:18 PM

King of the Hill shootout set for 1:45 p.m. Saturday

Mike Landis

Dayton Ince will take some of the final shots of his high school basketball career Saturday, and if he’s dialed in, the Kewanee senior could earn the distinction of being the state’s best 3-point shooter.Ince captured the Class 2A Country Financial 3-Point Showdown title last Saturday at Peoria’s Carver Arena, which earned him the chance to match his long-range prowess with the top shooters from the other three classes this weekend in Peoria.“It’s pretty awesome, especially with the season ending the way it did,” said Ince of winning the 2A Showdown. “Being crowned state champ and going back this weekend to compete against the best shooters in the state of Illinois is a pretty good feeling.”Ince made the trip to state last year as a junior, but didn’t make it out of the prelims. His expectations were much loftier in his return trip.“Going into the prelims, I kind of expected to make the finals. Everybody expected me to make the finals,” said Ince. “I didn’t shoot as well as I wanted, but still made the shootout.”Ince made nine treys in last Thursday’s prelims, which put him and six other competitors into a shootout for the final qualifying berth.Justin Lemenager of Clifton Central knocked down 7 of 10 treys in the shootout, leaving Ince with a tall order to make the finals.“I wasn’t quite sure it was going to happen because that’s a pretty tough number to beat in a shootout only having 10 balls. Then I came out and put an 8 up and surprised myself,” he said.After surviving the shootout, it was Ince’s turn to apply the pressure in Friday’s finals. “I wasn’t nervous at all on Friday,” said Ince. His comfort with the moment showed, as he drained 11 of 15 treys shooting first in the finals. “Going first is what I wanted in that situation,” said Ince.Ince topped his nearest competitor by three 3-pointers, and earned a berth in Saturday’s King of the Hill competition against the winners from Class 1A, 3A and 4A.The King of the Hill shootout starts at 1:45 p.m., between the Class 3A third-place and state championship games.Ince said Saturday’s mission is simple — shoot well.“ This one is just for fun. There’s nothing really riding on this one. I’m just going out there and having fun with the best shooters in each class,” he said.